Some nice ppl here asked for a series, so here is one image for the imagination... lots of ideas rolling in my head, but im trying to write them down and post the pics in the order intended to tell the little story!

Some additional info:
The Essa 4's head unit is slaved to the copilots/gunner and isn't a primary sensor suite at all -it is a pure turret. The 'eye holes' are firing ports for the twin CIWS [close in weapon systems] /20mm M61A1 Gatling rapidfire cannon that spew Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS), Depleted Uranium sub-caliber penetrator at 4,500 rounds/min. Due to weight constraints, ammo kept in the skull cavity is limited to 3000 rds that is shared between the gun units. In future evolutions of the Essa, they eventually phase out and become caseless munitions.

ERA plates /Explosive Reactive Armour is fitted on 'hotspots' on the upper torso. Found on modern day battle tanks, and from what I understand, these ingenius explosives essentially protect a surface by exploding at the point of impact by a foreign body, its own concussive force negating that of the intruding round, or even overcoming it and destroying it completely, leaving the 'parent surface unscathed. There are numerous technological variants of course, and the ones mounted on the Essa 4 are smartplates, so they do not rupture unless contacted at high caliber munitons muzzle speeds.

The tongfer/baton unit can retract and extend both ways along the underarm rails at extreme speeds. [With its size and mass alone, these babies pack a wallop on pretty much anything that gets in close proximity to the Essa. Future editions are explosive-powered and even carry their own submunition for a violent ravaging close-in blast.

Canister launcher-pods on the 'hips' allow firing from squatting [fire backwards of the Essa] and forwards on the move/uprighted. Ordnance options include smoke, illum/flare, chaff and Anti Personnel rounds.

Most of the Essa 4 is synthetic muscle, treated with reactive smart fabrics to boost reaction time and durability, not to mention lowering overall weight and being a solid successor to machined joints and servos. Muscles regenerate over time with nanotech-infused 'blood'. This lends an eerie air to the Essa, as pilots and crewchiefs tend to their "living" machines.

The backpack unit acts as a booster and primary energy supply for the muscles to be activated and react in tandem with the pilots sensations and movements. If depleted, the Essa can still maintain locomotion, slowly, but unsteadily. Hence leaving it in no shape for combat-oriented movements.

Lastly, there are no heroic wankers in this tale. (you know, the G.I Joe sort.) These are expensive machines and priceless lives we're talking. Combined arms and formation tactics rule the end days that humanity will soon come to know of. These titans are always at least in pairs, or have at least a detachment of Infantry Fighting Vehicles(with a full combat load) if alone, AntiAir gun tanks (like the one pictured above), refuel and recharge trailers in tow, and a AllTerrain Command Walker,[TAC Walkers] an enormous tactical Command, Control and Communications platform and base of operations housing command-level personnel and their retinue for any battle. These are lightly armed, and thus rely on the well-oiled combat drills and tactical decisions made as a Fighting Formation/Unit.

I was thinking more along the lines of "does he sit on a pilot seat and push buttons" (as seen on Gundam or Mechwarrior) vs "strapped to motion capture and force feedback gear" (much like seen in Avatar or Escaflowne).

hmm, I guess this would count as the sketch really? Thats kind of what speed-painting (or quick-painting) is all about really. Getting maximum expression with minimal effort. It is a sketch in essence.. but with a bit more (because the painterly/impressionistic element helps add a sense of detail, where just using lines alone wouldn't be enough).

Go check out places like conceptart.org you'll get an idea of what I'm driving at.

ERA is actually designed to counter the HEAT rounds (you knows, those badass things that create a jet stream of metal on impact that just cuts through tank's amour plates like tofu). ERA's explosion deformed the jet stream and thus reduce its effectiveness.

And the concept of a M61 Vulcan firing sabot rounds is pretty far-fetched to me, don't think 20mm APDS can have enough mass to be effective.

"And the concept of a M61 Vulcan firing sabot rounds is pretty far-fetched to me, don't think 20mm APDS can have enough mass to be effective."

I don't want to know what your idea of rational firepower is then haha

Anyways, I think for a miligeek such as yourself you are sure to have heard of point defence systems (anti artillery.. anti missile...AAA etc) such as Phalanx or Goalkeeper. Do check em out, because I used them as a point of reference for my fiction. Not that i take myself seriously.. its just that those are actual deployed systems and tis good to share!

heh, checked out the systems tt u pointed out, and holy cow they do use 20mm APDS xD well i'm not such a miligeek after all (seriously, i'm not. JC students don't have enough time to go in-depth as i'd have loved to). And actually i thought ur Vulcan was for anti-tank purposes (in which case 20mm, APDS or not, would be like mosquito's bite), sorry for missing out on the CIWS ._.

But then again, using the whole head for CIWS is quite a waste. and why a mere M61? there's plenty of space for 2 30mm GAU-8s, or maybe 25mm GAU-12s isn't it? they are a hell lot more lethal

You did a great job on military research when talking about Shape Charges (one explosion to stop another). I think that even if you "mucked" around with this thing, the fact that you have much more thought and purpose to the design makes it that much more interesting.

I like most of what i see, but just one point that gets overlooked in the large mecha categaory; Ground pressure. Large armoured Biped has an immense amount of ground pressure. any soft terrain will bog it down unless the feet are large enough to reduce the ground pressure. In Urban terrain it would just fall through the street into the sewer. Tanks have the large tracks to reduce the ground pressure for the 70 ton metel monster rolling around. Mecha still have to face the ground pressure problem in whatever environmet they are going to travel.